So, I have been reading some of the other posts and am confused. A small amount of oil is leaking from the back of the engine under the air box. I haven't been able to find the exact location but that is the general area. My question is - is this normal or something I should looking further into and get fixed. The guy I bought it from said it had a recent rebuild because the engine overheated and burnt out (not sure if that plays into anything). It is not a lot of oil and I just have been making sure to check the level before each ride. It only leaks when running and I'm assuming that's because the oil heats up and thins out. Hondabond??? I am going to swing by the Honda dealership but thought I would get some opinions from here first.
Oil leaking on Rancher
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I don't remember where the oil cooler lines bolt on at on the Rancher, but I would check those. It might be leaking there. The Ranchers are bad for the fan quitting and making them run hot. When they do this, they usually melt the piston and rings. That's probably what happened to yours before. I have seen a bunch of them do that. I have one in my garage right now that done it. I'm waiting on the parts to come in now, to fix it.
As far as finding the oil leak, take some engine degreaser and clean the engine and frame off real good where the oil is and then start it up and run it and see if you can see where it is leaking. If it's a slow leak you might not be able to tell as soon as you start it up. Just check it every time you ride it, until you see it starting to leak. If you find it before the engine gets too oily, you should be able to tell where it's coming from. Also, check on the inside of your airbox. It might be full of oil and leaking out the drain.
As far as finding the oil leak, take some engine degreaser and clean the engine and frame off real good where the oil is and then start it up and run it and see if you can see where it is leaking. If it's a slow leak you might not be able to tell as soon as you start it up. Just check it every time you ride it, until you see it starting to leak. If you find it before the engine gets too oily, you should be able to tell where it's coming from. Also, check on the inside of your airbox. It might be full of oil and leaking out the drain.
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Is your leak possibly coming from the shift shaft seal? I have a 2000 Rancher ES and recently noticed oil on the garage floor under the rear portion of the engine. I took a mechanics mirror and thought I located a leak where the shift shaft exits the engine on the rear left side. I don't have a clue what might have caused it, other than age, but I've got to determine if it's something I can fix myself or if I need to take it to Honda.
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as helmut stated..try cleaning it up with some engine degreaser....keep in mind..where it's dripping..may not be right where the leak is...as stated from rancherider..it may be somewhere else on the engine..but running back to the lowest part of the bike..sooo..check everywhere.
I have not found the exact location of the leak. It is definitely coming from the back of the engine though. It is only a small amount and I have just been topping off every morning that I am going to be riding. Once the weather warms up a bit I am going to pull it apart and find where it is coming from.
I had the same exact problem with my 2005 honda rancher. Mud gets into the pull starter and eats up the crank seal, which can cause serious problems if not cought soon, what you need to do is drain the oil make sure theres no water in it, get a new crank seal, order whats called a macsim guard and replace your pull starter with that, if your lucky you can catch it before it does any serious damage. My cousin had to have the engine in his completely rebuilt. If you need any help or advice feel free to message me or email me.
Good luck!
-Zac
Good luck!
-Zac
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he's saying replace the seal in the pull starter.
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I believe he's saying to replace the pull starter with some kind of block off plate, but I could be wrong.
oil leak
yes i have the same problem on my 04' it almost looks like the head bolt on the left back side of the head is not torqued down tight enough i also looked in my air box and there is oil in that so im thinking it could of drained from there because there is no other leakes anywhere on the mottor just in that one spot maybe the drain comes out there?
yes i have the same problem on my 04' it almost looks like the head bolt on the left back side of the head is not torqued down tight enough i also looked in my air box and there is oil in that so im thinking it could of drained from there because there is no other leakes anywhere on the mottor just in that one spot maybe the drain comes out there?
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